I've taken this poem directly from my colleague in poetry blogging, and her excellent blog to which I highly recommend subscribing. I thank her for showing me this wonderful poem and apologize for so blatantly copying her idea in posting it!

Summer itself in this poem is like a summer lover. There's a "strange heat" and a reluctance to separate. The poem feels especially appropriate today, a hot September day. It was nearly 95 F today (35 F for my non-American friends) and still, the leaves are mostly full and green, as if no one has told them summer is coming to a close soon.

My favorite line is the hope you can feel in the last stanza. The leaves hold on "as if this time there will be no autumn" and they will not have to part. Anyone who has ever had a summer romance, or any other sort of relationship limited by external time factors will feel those lines deeply. That desperate cling, knowing you must separate, is sweet and painful all at the same time. What a marvelous comparison.

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About Me

I'm Chris, a recently returned traveler and former EFL teacher. I think reading poetry is one of the most important things anyone can do, and that reading slowly, and with deliberation, is a balm for the soul. With each poem I post, I provide some small analysis, which will hopefully provoke some thought. Above all, I hope that you enjoy these poems and that they come into your mind at unexpected times.

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This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I make such material available in an effort to spread an appreciation of poetry for educational and recreational uses. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.